Top Shelf: Life after Sochi

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - When the NHL went on hiatus for the
Olympics earlier this month, a debate raged as to whether the league should
continue to allow its players to participate in the quadrennial Winter Games.

After John Tavares injured his knee while suiting up for Team Canada in Sochi,
it's an issue that is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

The image of Tavares writhing in pain on the Olympic ice was the realization
of a nightmare scenario for the NHL and its owners. In an instant, the New
York Islanders star not only saw his Olympics end but also was lost for the
remainder of the NHL's regular season due to a partially torn MCL in his left
knee.

Even with a healthy Tavares, the Islanders faced long odds to make the
playoffs, but that misses the point. So does the fact the Isles are due
financial relief for the loss of Tavares thanks to contract insurance paid for
by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Ice Hockey
Federation (IIHF).

At 23 years old, Tavares is one of the brightest young stars in an NHL
landscape that is dominated by young stars. Tavares is supposed to be the
player who will lead the star-crossed Islanders franchise back to
respectability. He may still be able to lead the Isles to better days, but
after what happened in Sochi, it seems like the club and its fans are destined
to suffer for at least a little while longer.

The Islanders, however, weren't the only team to lose a valuable player while
they were busy representing their country at the Winter Games. Tavares just
happened to be the most recognizable face among the injured Olympians. Also
suffering injuries of varying degrees were Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik
Zetterberg, New York Rangers leading scorer Mats Zuccarello, Pittsburgh
Penguins defenseman Paul Martin and Florida Panthers standout rookie
Aleksander Barkov.

While not as bad as Tavares' torn knee, Zetterberg's back injury required
surgery and it came at a terrible time for Detroit. The recovery time expects
to keep Zetterberg sidelined right up until the end of the regular season and
it could loom large for the Red Wings and head coach Mike Babcock, who is
trying to get Detroit to its 23rd straight playoff appearance. Babcock, of
course, coached Team Canada to its second straight gold medal in Sochi, but
the task of getting to the postseason without his Swedish captain could prove
even tougher.

Sometime between now and the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the
league and the NHL Players' Association is going to have decide whether it's
worth the risk to allow NHLers the right to represent their nations at the
Olympics. When that time comes, you can be certain the cases of Tavares and
Zetterberg will feature heavily in those debates.

Perhaps it's not the worst thing if the NHL's participation with the Olympics
ends with Sochi 2014. The league is doing better than ever financially and no
longer needs the Winter Games to sell its sport to the world, if you even
believe the Olympics ever had that effect on the NHL product to begin with.

Some will say it will take a serious injury to a star player of Sidney Crosby's
level to affect change when it comes to Olympic participation and the NHL.
Clearly, Crosby suffering a catastrophic injury while donning Team Canada
colors would garner more headlines, but the Tavares' injury is more than
capable of changing minds in its own right.

Before Tavares, the prospect of losing a star player to serious injury at the
Winter Games was little more than a hypothetical. After Sochi, however, the
nightmare seems very real indeed.

RANDOM OLYMPIC THOUGHTS

- Another reason to scrap the NHL's Olympic break is: Do we really need to stop
the season for two-plus weeks just to confirm that Canada is the greatest
hockey nation in the world? I'm not sure if limiting Olympic participation to
amateurs would even the playing field or not, but either way we can all agree
Team Canada would still be prohibitive favorite, right?

- For me, the most anticlimactic story line of the Olympics was whether Russia
could win hockey gold. I would have been shocked if they were able to claim
bronze, let alone win the tournament. A fifth-place finish seemed about right
for a team that boasted superstar NHLers Alex Ovechkin and Pavel Datsyuk, but
with little depth to speak of at forward or defense.

- In the end, the Swedes were smothered by the formidable Canadian defense in
the gold medal game, but it was still an impressive run to a silver medal,
especially after losing Zetterberg to injury. It marked a return to the
Olympic podium for Team Sweden after failing to medal four years ago at
Vancouver. With a gold and a silver to his credit, Swedish goaltender Henrik
Lundqvist would definitely like to add a Stanley Cup title with the New York
Rangers to his already impressive resume.

- Teemu Selanne's last run at the Olympics ended with him winning his fourth
Olympic medal. Fittingly, the man known as the "Finnish Flash" scored twice to
help his country slam the United States, 5-0, in the bronze medal battle.
Selanne will be 47 when the next Olympics rolls around, but the funny thing is
he probably could still be a key part of Finland's team in 2018 if he wanted to
be.

- Remember that exciting shootout battle between Russia and the United States
in the preliminary round? Turns out that victory -- which was keyed by T.J.
Oshie's star-making shootout performance -- was the high point of the
tournament for the Americans. The U.S. squad scored 15 goals in three
preliminary games, but never found the back of the net in the two games that
mattered most. The United States never really had a chance to beat Canada
despite only losing the semifinal game 1-0. The score was misleading because it
was one of the more lopsided 1-0 losses you will ever see. However, the follow-
up performance against Finland was even worse for the U.S. squad, and that's
unfortunate because there would've been no shame in coming home with a bronze
medal. Instead, the Americans seemed to lose interest once the Canadians dashed
their gold medal dreams.

- For all the memorable moments created by the NHLers in Sochi, nothing
approached the women's gold medal game for pure drama. Once again, it was
Canada proving itself as the team to beat on the Olympic stage, as the U.S.
women coughed up a 2-0 lead in the waning minutes of regulation en route to a
3-2 overtime loss. As an American, of course, it was heartbreaking to watch
the U.S. women fall to Canada yet again at the Winter Games, but the game
provided some of the most lasting images of the 2014 Olympics. Plain and
simple, it was the best on-ice battle the Sochi Games had to offer.